Euphorbia: how to care at home

Often this plant is confused with a cactus, placing near the computer. It can also protect our health from negative effects and have a beneficial effect on the indoor climate. But this is not a cactus at all. This is a special and the brightest representative of succulents - euphorbia.

Short description

Euphorbia is a widespread plant around the globe. This is his scientific name, but onokak spurge is more known. Euphorbia can be found in cold climates and in temperate, but the greatest species diversity is represented in the subtropical zone.

After all, from there she comes from the island of Madagascar, from the subtropics of Africa and America. The variety of its species is striking in its versatility: some grow in the form of a tree, others - in the form of a bush, and others - flowers intended for growing in a room; the fourth - feel great in the garden.

Some of them are perennial, others are annual; some have thorns, others - leaves; one stem is coarse, fleshy, the other - faceted and ribbed. Euphorbia is so different that it is sometimes hard to believe that a tree, a bush and a flower growing nearby are plants that have the same name and are representatives of the same kind.

But there is one important feature that unites all the species of this plant - all parts of the plant are saturated with poisonous juice, like milk.

Despite this, euphorbia can always be seen in the windows of apartments, and growing in the dacha, because it is quite acceptable to breed in the living room and in open space.

Indoor species

Euphorbia has more than two thousand different species, but of particular interest are those that can be grown independently in the home.

Euphorbia triangular looks like a Mexican cactus, it also has all the branches in the thorns, oval-shaped leaves are curved downwards and an unusual peculiar trunk. Its dark green stalk, fleshy, large, thick, straight in shape, reaching 6 cm in diameter, has three faces. On the edges of the stem, which protrude along its sides, single, brown, small spines are visible.

At the top there are leaves of lanceolate form with a length of up to 5 cm. Euphorbia grows quite quickly, reaching 3 meters in height, beautifully lets branches and shoots, becomes like an amazing candlestick with a lot of triangular candles.

Although it does not bloom indoors, it has a strange decorative appeal that can last for many years. It is used for design purposes in large premises: large apartments, private homes, medical institutions, offices of companies.

Also, euphorbia triangular is able to disinfect the air in the room from harmful bacteria, cleaning it. Previously, the juice of this plant was treated with lichens, parasites were removed, and the calves and warts were removed. Euphorbia white-veined looks like a palm tree because of the leaves located at the edges of the ribbed stem. The trunk below is thin, but rather dense, the closer to the top, the thicker it becomes.

Under appropriate conditions, it can grow up to two meters, the leaves in the process of growth gradually fall from the trunk and remain only at the top.

Closer to winter, the leaves fall completely, leaving a bare stem, which at the first signs of the arrival of spring, starting from the top, is covered with green leaves with white veins characteristic of this species.

Even with poor watering, milkweed white-moth feels comfortable, but loves a lot of light. Euphorbia belozhilkovy blooms with light small flowers, after the flowering of which there remains a box with ripening seeds.

When they are completely ripe, the box bursts and the seeds fall out from the inside. This type of euphorbia also has healing properties. From it, an ointment was used to get rid of paralysis and normalize the skin. With the help of tinctures from milkweed, the edemas were removed, today they help to cure cystitis, hemorrhoids, relieve abdominal pains.

Euphorbia Pallas received the name in honor of the scientist Pallas studying it. The popular name "man-root".This is the most valuable medicinal euphorbia. It has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial action. Euphorbia Pallas grows well in bright places, well tolerates the winter cold. Its height reaches only twenty-five centimeters.

Euphorbia beautiful famous for its bright scarlet, white or pink bracts, its real flowers are not even noticeable. A small plant (maximum 65 cm tall) blooms in winter. Spurting fat - an unusual dark green plant, painted with a light green cell, in which the stem with edges and edges is presented in the form of a ball. In the summer, a crown of yellowish flowers blooms on it. Euphorbia bright - The plant, the stems and leaves of which are brown with a grayish bloom and covered with large spines. His bright flowers are collected by an umbrella. Spurge spherical - A plant with a stem of spherical segments covered with tubercles. Euphorbia papillary - it is a fairly branched plant with main and lateral stems 3-4 cm thick, separated by grooves and ribs. Euphorbia head jellyfish It has a wide sturdy stem with shoots that look like snakes. Euphorbia mile or "crown of thorns" like all flower growers. Shrub blossoms quite often. Pink, red or yellow little flowers adorn the whole bush of euphorbia, beautifully combined with rich green small leaves. This type of milkweed is very photophilous, if there is little light, it will not bloom.

Care and conditions for growing at home

For many, the question arises whether it is permissible to start house euphorbia. Euphorbia is a rather unsafe plant, in order for them to acquire, you need to have enough courage.

It is poisonous, milk, which stands out from the milk, can cause serious poisoning. So you need to be extremely careful with him, when you need to use gloves. And even in the room euphorbia can grow to the ceiling. To care for such a prickly copy will not be easy at first.Only after it can be understood that he is not capricious at all, not picky, he begins to feel rather quickly indoors, as in a natural environment.

His few needs are quite simple to fulfill. Spurge - just a godsend in terms of care for a novice grower.

Location and lighting

If you still decide to grow euphorbia, it is necessary, first of all, to find a suitable place for it. All sorts of milkweed like daylight and good lighting, just some may suffer a little, but you can never abuse it.

Therefore, it will be better for the plant in the place where there is enough natural light, and for the greater effect of the uniform formation of the crown, spurge will not interfere with regularly turning the opposite sides to sunlight.

Although the direct rays of the sun, aimed at the plant for a long time, can harm it.

Temperature conditions

Euphorbia is very fond of heat, he does not like the cold, because he comes from hot places. A suitable temperature should not be lower than 25 ° C.

In the summer, it will be appropriate to take it out to the balcony or to the street; with the arrival of cool evenings, spurges must be brought back into the room.Euphorbia will calmly bear the heat, but the cold is destructive for him.

Watering and humidity

In spring and summer, when euphorbia grows particularly intensively, it must be systematically watered about once a week, preventing overdrying of the soil. In winter, you can water less often.

Humidity for euphorbia is not critical, but she likes spraying. It improves her appearance, charges with vital energy. But you need to be careful in this case, because when water gets on the plant, favorable conditions are created for the development of fungi.

Feedings

Feed euphorbia can be once a month throughout the spring and autumn period. To do this, the best fit special fertilizer for cacti with all the necessary trace elements.

When and how to transfer

Euphorbia feels better in drained loose soil with good air permeability. To do this, you can buy ready-made mixture specifically for succulents or prepare it from the earth with humus, river sand and peat.

The plant is planted in a shallow, but rather wide pot with drainage holes, the bottom is covered with a sufficient layer of brick chips or expanded clay. Then pour out the prepared or purchased mixture, pour the planted plant.

Young euphorbias are recommended to be transplanted annually, those that are older - once every two or three years. Transplantation is desirable to produce in early spring.

Diseases and pests: ways to fight

Euphorbia, due to its poisonous milky juice, is almost never attacked by pests, and with proper care, the disease is not terrible for him either.

But if euphorbia does not reveal its leaves, then we have to think about why this is happening to it. After all, sometimes the mealybug is covered with white shoots, the red spider mite weaves the leaves with spiderwebs, and the aphids do not give rest.

Therefore, the plant must be regularly monitored and treated with special means (insecticides) or use folk methods when such "uninvited guests" appear.

With insufficient care, spurge can also lower the leaves, and you need to find out why. Suddenly it is the first heralds of the disease, and not just the lack of moisture?

For example, it can lose leaves when moisture stagnates, turn yellow if it is not fed, brown growths on the stems suggest that the plant is under the influence of the sun for a long time. But it is good that everything can be easily eliminated if you find the problem in time and understand its causes.

Reproduction by cuttings at home

Reproduction by cuttings and seeds is characteristic of euphorbia. The most suitable time for propagation by cuttings is spring and early summer.

Young lateral processes (shoots) are cut off with a length of approximately 10 cm, immediately immersed in warm water so that poisonous juice flows out, cuts sprinkled with crushed coal to avoid ingress of harmful bacteria, and dried two or three days.

After this, the cuttings need to be planted in the sand, having previously moistened it, and placed in a bright place, but a little shady. When the shoot begins to grow, put down the roots, it is transplanted into a permanent pot.

The air temperature must be greater than 20 ° C.You can, of course, try to immediately plant the cuttings in the prepared soil. At first, in the first month, such a plant should be less disturbed, allowed to take root and adapt. Euphorbia is a unique plant. It combines incompatible: very beautiful, while unpretentious; very useful and healing, but terribly poisonous; requires moisture, but can perfectly do without water.

Nature has created this amazing plant, so that man would strive to solve all her secrets to the end.